La Sagrada Familia- THE Basilica of our time

Anton Gaudi had a dream- a dream to build a Cathedral to God that represented God's creations. Gaudi used nature in all his designs.  He studied natural forms, how they interacted, and used those very concepts in his buildings.  He has many buildings here in Barcelona, and all over Spain.  But his masterpiece is La Sagrada Familia (the Sacred Family), now truly a Cathedral since consecrated by Pope Benedict in 2010.  It is still about 40 years from completion, and had a hard road to creation.  It survived the Spanish civil war, a less-than-enthusiastic populace for some time, and no consistent income stream.  But in the past few decades, especially with Catalonian pride, the Cathedral is being worked on almost round the clock- all with private donations.  When visiting, please go on-line to get your tickets.  You will get a specific time to visit, and walk right in.  You can also climb the towers! If you try to wait in those horrible lines, you will hate life.  Come to Barcelona and check this out!

Addendum- April 9, 2014- after taking a walking tour of Barcelona, our guide was talking about the medieval cathedral.  We asked about La Sagrada Familia- a Cathedral is the home church of a bishop, so La Sagrada is a Basilica as it was blessed by the pope, but is not the home of a bishop.  We apologize for the misunderstand:-)

Rich messing around on the balcony of one of the towers (Did I mention that he and I climb every tower we come to?  Always go up- you get the best views:-))

 This is how high up we were

 Front of the Cathedral- upper tier: Jesus on the cross, with Mary looking up; lower tier: Veronica shown the true face of Jesus, as if a mirror for us all; on the right, Jesus carrying the cross; left soldiers.  as you can tell, Gaudi's statuary are rough-hewn.  but it is quite effective!

 Rich showing the height and depth of the interior of the Cathedral

 Detail of the ceiling- note how it looks like a forest.  Gaudi used nature as his inspiration.

 The High Alter

 St. George- my favorite Saint!  He is holding his sword, but no dragon.

Below: front view of the Cathedral